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T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

Johnson Space Center 50th anniversary

After half a century leading America's human spaceflight program, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) "goes golden." JSC is marking its first 50 years on Monday, Sept. 19, 2011.

On Sept. 19, 1961, NASA announced that its new facility, the Manned Spacecraft Center, would be located in Houston, Texas.

More than 20 sites competed to host the center. NASA established criteria for the proposed site, which included: transportation in ice-free water by barge, a mild climate, all-weather commercial jet service, a Department of Defense air base that could handle military aircraft, a nearby university and property that fell within certain cost parameters.

In 1973, the center was renamed in honor of the late president and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson. From the early Gemini, Apollo and Skylab projects to the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs and beyond, the center continues to lead NASA's efforts in human space exploration.